性瘾者

NEOMA smiled while having breakfast with her "family." She had the chance to observe everyone because her oppa and her children because they all fell silent after hearing the predicament that she was in.

By predicament, she meant the fact that His Excellency and the nobles would grill her at the meeting later. And she also told them that she might get dethroned if she wouldn\'t be able to defend herself properly.

[Oh, well.]

She brought a lot of food for her oppa and "children. Right now, they were in the dining hall while eating together. They just had breakfast, and now they were having opera cake for breakfast. It was pretty heavy of a dessert for breakfast but she was in a bad mood when she asked the chef Blanco Palace to prepare the meal for her children.

And so, she chose one of her most favorite cakes for dessert.

[Plus, chocolate is always the right choice.]

Anyway…

She was seated in the center of the long table.

Seated on her right was Lewis, and Juri Wisteria was seated on her son\'s other side. Jasper Oppa was on her left, while Jeno Dankworth was seated on her oppa\'s other side– facing Juri Wisteria.

And oh, Greko was the closest to her. She placed their maknae\'s (youngest) chair between her and Lewis.

[I miss this kind of peace–]

"Let\'s attack the High Priest to prevent him from attending the meeting," Juri Wisteria announced with a grim look on her face. "Should we break His Excellency\'s legs?"

"Are you stupid, Wisteria?" Jeno Dankworth complained.

She was relieved to know that Jeno Dankworth was rational–

"The priests of Astello Temple are good at healing so breaking His Excellency\'s legs wouldn\'t be enough," the young lord said viciously, cutting off her thoughts abruptly. "We should at least put the High Priest into a comatose state for a few days."

She gulped, then she turned to Jasper Oppa to ask for his help.

Jasper Oppa smiled at her as if he understood what she wanted him to do. Then, the young duke turned to the older nobles. "Lady Wisteria, Lord Dankworth, let\'s calm down."

[Ah, I knew I can depend on Jasper Oppa–]

"We need to discuss the method that we\'re going to use first," her oppa said, crushing her hope once again. "I highly recommend using my poisonous butterflies since I can guarantee its effectiveness."

Juri and Jeno looked convinced as they nodded eagerly at Jasper Oppa\'s suggestion.

[These kids…]

She didn\'t dare to turn to Lewis because she knew best what the stern look on her son\'s face meant.

[He\'s probably having vicious thoughts at the moment.]

"Everyone, let\'s calm down," Neoma said to her family. "Don\'t worry about His Excellency. It\'s too late to stop his meddling anyway since the Noble Faction has already in contact with him."

Her oppa and her children turned to her with a worried look on their faces.

"Papa Boss and I will figure out a way to make me look innocent. We\'ll fabricate evidence if we have to," she said confidently to reassure the children. "But I didn\'t go here just to discuss the matter with the High Priest with you. I\'m here to give you back your freedom. And most importantly, I\'m here to give you a job."

Aside from High Priest Wellington\'s arrival, she still had to deal with the nobles who weren\'t happy at how she handled the problem regarding the Death Camp.

[But I can shut them up by copying what Jasper Oppa did during my first life.]

Hooray to the memories of her first life.

"I need to talk to you all one by one," Neoma declared, then she turned to Greko who had been quiet all this time. And her cutie little cinnamon roll was quiet because he was busy munching on the slice of opera cake on his plate. "Greko, can I talk to you after you\'re done eating?"

Greko smiled and nodded eagerly. "I understand, Sister Neoma."

Everyone in the room looked shocked when they heard Greko address her casually.

[Oh, well.]

***

"GREKO, are you alright?" Neoma asked the child while holding his hand. Right now, the two of them were seated side-by-side on the sofa. Of course, Lewis (now acting as her knight again) was standing behind her. "Is Aurora doing well?"

Greko\'s face lit up when he smiled and nodded. "Yes, Sister Neoma. I\'m okay. Everyone has taken good care of me," he said. "Aurora is also doing well. She\'s currently asleep because she exhausted her healing power when she helped me take care of my friends from the camp."

Ah, right.

She already read the report that Geoffrey Kinsley handed her yesterday.

"Sister Neoma, are my friends okay?" the child asked worriedly. "Can I see them again?"

"Your friends are currently in a safe place. They\'re being taken care of by our people so I can guarantee that they\'re all doing well," she said to her "son" gently. "Of course, you can see them again once everything has been settled."

The Healer smiled and nodded, his clear eyes told her that he had complete faith in her.

"Greko?"

"Hmm?"

"I\'ll get straight to the point," she said. She didn\'t want to hurry but she still had to talk to the other children. "I\'m currently building my own crew. Would you like to join our team as our official Support-slash-Healer?"

The child blushed, then he nodded shyly. "I\'d like to be with you, Sister Neoma."

She smiled and hugged the little boy.

Then, she suddenly felt a chill.

When she raised her head, she was greeted by Lewis who was glaring at Greko. Ah, her "firstborn son" must be jealous of the youngest one.

[Let\'s ignore him for now.]

She pulled away from Greko to look at his face properly. "Greko, being one of my people won\'t be easy. Of course, I\'ll treat you well. But you still have to do your part."

"What do I have to do, Sister Neoma?"

"First, you need to study," she said carefully. "Then, you need to train and pass the exam at the Royal Tower. Since you\'re a Healer, you need a certificate from the Royal Tower before you can officially take the position in my team. Typically, a child like you wouldn\'t be allowed to take their test. But there\'s an exception if you\'re going to be a part of a royal\'s personal Order of the Knights."

The child smiled and nodded quite easily. "I understand, Sister Neoma," he said, then he raised his chubby little clenched fists. "I will study very hard to become an official Healer and join your crew."

Looking at Greko\'s innocent face and refreshing smile cleanse her soul.

Now she felt bad.

"I\'m not a good person, Greko," she confessed to him. "I know that I\'m the one who recruited you. But still, I will give you a chance to run away from me. I will still treat you kindly even if you turn my offer down."

The child\'s cheeks flushed. "Can I be honest, Sister Neoma?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course, baby."

Greko\'s face turned red because of the endearment that she used to call him. But it seemed like he set his personal feelings aside first to share his thoughts with her. "I don\'t really care even if you\'re a bad person," he said softly, then he smiled nervously at her. "All I care about is that you\'re good to me, Sister Neoma," he confessed. "Am I selfish for thinking that way?"

"Not at all. I like your selfishness," Neoma said, then she gave Greko a thumbs up. "Call me \'noona\' from now on, maknae-ah."

***

"JENO DANKWORTH, I decided to officially accept you in my crew," Neoma said to the young lord seated on the couch across from her. "I heard about your great contributions to the mission that I assigned to your team. Thank you for being a reliable member."

Jeno Dankworth blushed, and he seemed pleased with her praise.

At the same moment, she felt another chill behind her.

Lewis was still standing behind the sofa. Thus, she could confidently say that the coldness that she was feeling came from her son.

[Is he being jealous of his hyung?]

\'Hyung\' meant \'older brother\' in the Korean language. Now that Jeno Dankworth was a part of their team, then that meant the young lord was also a part of their family starting today.

"Thank you for allowing me to serve you, Princess Neoma," Jeno Dankworth said, then he bowed to her. "I will serve you well."

"Jeno, does the current Count Dankworth, your older brother, like the Crown Prince?"

He raised his head, his face looked confused. "I believe so, Your Royal Highness," he said. "And House Dankworth has always been a part of the Royal Faction."

"That\'s the old stance of your family," she said. "I want to know if your older brother personally likes me." She paused for a while, then she shrugged. "But I guess I will find out later. I heard that your family has a lot of complaints against me after you were locked up here in the tower."

His expression turned grim, but she knew that it wasn\'t directed at her. "It must be our family\'s vassals that are complaining. I\'m pretty sure that my older brother just went to sleep when I left our estate. He\'s usually asleep for two weeks, so I believe that he hasn\'t woken up yet."

Count Sean Dankworth was truly a mystery to her.

[What kind of person sleeps for two weeks straight?]

"Don\'t worry, Princess Neoma," Jeno assured her. "I will make sure that House Dankworth will not utter a word of complaint against you during the meeting."

Neoma smiled because that was the outcome that she was aiming for. "Thank you, Jeno," she said even though she didn\'t know how Jeno would handle their vassals if Count Sean Dankworth was still asleep. "I look forward to House Dankworth\'s support."

***

NEOMA was quite nervous now that she was facing Juri Wisteria.

She still couldn\'t get rid of the guilt in her heart. She was feeling sorry towards Juri because she couldn\'t hate her Aunt Nichole for what she had done to Madam Hammock. Thus, she felt ashamed of herself in front of her "daughter."

"Juri, why didn\'t you leave when my father asked you to?" Neoma asked gently. "Madam Hammock is waiting for you."

She heard from Geoffrey Kinsley that House Hammock refused to bury Madam Hammock\'s remains as long as Juri was locked up in the tower.

Thus, her father gave Juri the chance to return home.

But the "Tank" remained stubborn.

"I told His Majesty that I won\'t leave the tower until you wake up," Juri said, then her gaze dropped to her fiddling hands on her lap. The arrogant and confident girl that she knew had become timid and nervous. And she understood why. "But the truth is, I\'m just too ashamed to face my family. I failed to protect Grandma…"

Her heart was now heavier with guilt.

After all, if she didn\'t bring Juri to the camp, Madam Hammock wouldn\'t have followed them. If the madam didn\'t meet her Aunt Nichole in the camp, then maybe the Healing Sage would have been alive by now…

[But blaming ourselves won\'t help. We need to move forward.]

"It\'s not your fault, Juri," she said, comforting her "daughter." "It was Princess Nichole who killed Madam Hammock. She\'s the only one who you should blame and not yourself."

Was she being a hypocrite?

But she wasn\'t just saying that to comfort Juri. She meant it. It was true that Princess Nichole was the one responsible for Madam Hammock\'s death anyway. She couldn\'t deny the fact even if she was fond of her aunt.

She was sad about it though.

"Juri, Princess Nichole is my aunt so I understand if you feel resentful toward me," Neoma said carefully, then she asked the thing that needed to be asked. "Do you still want to serve the person who\'s related to Madam Hammock\'s murderer?"

And suddenly, Juri\'s face turned crestfallen.

***

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